“Due to increasing international trade and the global significance of supply chains there is an inter-dependence between multi-national buyers and sellers of goods to understand and manage local and international risk,” says Marius Swanepoel, Chief Executive Officer, IMPERIAL Logistics. “It is imperative that we understand where these risks manifest and how to sustainably manage them, both from an IMPERIAL Logistics and customer perspective.”
According to Dr Bruce Arntzen, senior research director at the MIT CTL, supply chain risk managers are constantly being pulled in to fight fires to deal with small to large crises all across the supply chain. Having a compelling display of the end-to-end supply chain with the risk pathways highlighted will help management grasp the significance with greater ease. From the survey results it was found that South African respondents have the mindset that ‘prevention is better than cure’, and believe that preventative actions are better directed in a centralised manner, whereas event response actions should be directed from a local, de-centralised level. Respondents indicated that common internal risk factors include the likes of transportation carrier failure, raw material supply and cost fluctuations. Perceptions of external risk factors included concerns over electricity supply, protracted labour disputes and poor economic/recessionary conditions. The majority of companies in South Africa either do not work with, or work ineffectively with suppliers and customers to reduce overall supply chain risk. This proves that significant scope exists for greater shared opportunities for organisations with a strong risk management mindset.
In global terms the South African logistics industry is relatively small, however cargo owners within all industries realise the benefits of outsourcing their logistics activities to leaders in local and global logistics. Forward thinking logistics providers with a proven track record of excellence when it comes to transportation provision, cost efficiency and supply chain risk management seem to be the preferred choice of the users of logistics services.
IMPERIAL Logistics, in conjunction with SAPICS will present more of the survey findings as well as the impact that these findings have on the supply chain industry at the 2010 SAPICS Conference occurring from 25 to 28 July 2010 in Sun City. The conference will offer an opportunity for delegates to learn more about the impact of supply chain risk, as well as the perceptions of the industry and the possibilities for advancement of their company’s own risk management strategy. |
